The use of orthopedic ankle support braces are utilized by a variety of individuals that experience an injury to a limb, such as a leg. Once an injury has been stabilized by, for example, by an immobilizing cast, a removable walking brace can be used to enable exercising of the ankle during healing. A number of such walking braces have been developed for such purpose. The primary goal of such ankle braces is to limit inversion and eversion movement while permitting generally normal dorsi-flexion and plan-to-flexion ankle movements.
An ankle brace configuration that has gained commercial acceptance uses a pair of oppositely disposed generally rigid sidewalls attached near their bottom edges by a flexible base portion that passes below the heel portion of the foot such that the sidewalls cooperatively engage opposite sides of the ankle. The sidewalls are generally contoured to generally match the external shape of the ankle. A pair of support members, typically in the form of pads, air bladders, or gel bladders are placed between the ankle and sidewalls to cushion and support the ankle. The entire brace assembly is secured to the ankle by adjustable fastener straps or lace configurations, and is configured to be worn inside a shoe.
Typical configurations of such a brace are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,489; 4,628,945 and 5,125,400 to Glen W. Johnson. These braces generally illustrate support-members having various configurations of pneumatic air-inflatable bladders that can be selectively pressurized by the user. One such configuration also includes a porous open-cell pad member within the air bladder to help pre-inflate the bladder while also providing additional cushioning support. Another uses a pair of overlapping inflatable chambers in the bladder in an attempt to better distribute the air within the bladder during use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,094 to Grim illustrates an ankle brace that uses a dense flexible gel cushioning material and which is secured to the shore by the shoe's laces. U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,416 illustrates use of an outer foam pad and an inner gel filled bladder that are secured to one another an to the outer sidewall by a plurality of cooperating fastener patches.
Such known devices have heretofore not provided a simple and cost effective brace configuration that provides adequate support while maintaining wearer comfort. The multiple, overlapping pad, bladder and chamber configurations are relatively expensive to produce, and can be cumbersome to use. Further, a simple cost-effective approach has heretofore not been devised for adequately cushioning the bony portions of the ankle from uncomfortable contact with the hard outer sidewall portions of the brace.
The present invention addresses the above shortcomings of the prior art, and offers a simple, cost effective, and effective brace configuration that is easy to apply and use and yet provides the required comfort and support.
The present invention utilizes a closed cell foam filler disposed with a gel material within a pad support. When a compressive force is applied to the pad support, the gel material moves within the support to accommodate the shape of the user's ankle, but the foam filler remains in place to provide comfort to the ankle's bony portions-providing a stable support for the ankle. The present invention discloses pad support members that have a supporting overlay fastener fabric integrally attached to the pad members across an entire surface thereof, for additional support and for removably and adjustably securing the pad members to the side supports.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the following description.